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At the Risk of Causing a Stir....
Main / Boise Homes for Sale  

While this isnt necessarily directly about Real Estate I do think it is topic appropriate. Sometimes the comment sections on this blog get fiery about how consumers shouldnt trust opinions of the people who are making money in the industry. There may be some truth to that.

But…..there is a talk show that I listen to regularly that has a sponsor where the big advertisement is that their sales people are paid a wage instead of commission so there is no pressure to buy.  I’ll be honest, the first time I heard that advertisement the first thing that ran through my head is, “I wonder how well those people know the product that they are selling.  What’s the motivation to know everything about it?”

People who make commissions HAVE to be proficient in their trade, continue to learn and grow and be knowledgeable in not only the product but also changes and market trends.  Otherwise they soon will be waiting tables.

People who make a wage get paid whether there is a sale or not.  What is the motivation for this person who has a guaranteed income to better themselves in their industry?  But, then again, just because they don't have a monetary motivation shouldn't assume that they don't do a good job.

So there are a couple of ways to look at it.

The point is I believe that there are pros and cons to both.  And the answer isn’t to just think that ALL people who make commissions are out to trick you in to buying something you don’t want.  The answer is to find someone who is ethical, trustworthy, and knowledgeable about their industry, who is a professional and can help to consult and advise you on a product or service and help you to decide what is right for YOU. 

Likewise, the answer isn’t to just think that ALL people in sales that make a salary wage are lazy and don’t know their product well because they don’t have anything to motivate them to be better.  The same answer applies - The answer is to find someone who is ethical, trustworthy, and knowledgeable about their industry, who is a professional and can help to consult and advise you on a product or service and help you to decide what is right for YOU. 

After all, these ARE the people that live and breath the market, industry, product or service daily.  And those people, who are competent at their job, are worth their pay no matter how it is done.  That goes for any industry.

Posted by Kasey Boles at 1/3/2008 2:10 PM Permalink | Trackback
Comments (6)
Re:At the Risk of Causing a Stir....
I always say that it takes all of us to keep the world goin' round. If there was only one perspective on everything or one solution that was right for everyone, it would be a much smaller world. The point is to listen and learn then ask questions. Get involved and share your thoughts as well.
Posted by tlangford on 1/3/2008 3:33 PM
Re:At the Risk of Causing a Stir....
Thanks for the post. It is nice to have a place to dialogue on Boise RE.

BTW I dont make commision. I imagine that many of the readers here don't either in their fields of work. Are we slackers? Are we unmotivated?

Bottom line is that tooo many professionals will
1. Not show houses based on commision payouts below theri target regardless of a client fit
2. Steer clients to in house properties
3. Pressure appraisers to make a deal happen (which only causes problems later)
4. Take kick backs from brokers, steer consumers to great brokers (i.e. the ones that buy the agent dinner or pay $)
5. Collude with opposing agents on deals
etc...

There is no real DUTY to the client. If there was, there would be a lot more lawsuits with all the BS that went on the last 3 years. Bottom line is the current industry is motivating for great sales people attracted to money.

If you removed the money, 90% of agents would leave and sell something else....this is not teaching or nursing or parenting....they love the $ before the job...

oh and they love the money before the client too.

Just my 2 cents.
Posted by emdeplam on 1/4/2008 5:25 AM
Re:At the Risk of Causing a Stir....
emdeplam-I really appreciate your comments and understand what you are saying. My point is, there ARE some in the industry who really do care about getting the person the property they want and helping them with their wants and needs. And if those Real Estate people are good, knowledgeable & competent (have integrity and are ethical) then they are of great value to consumer. And so my point is, find THOSE people to help you and to work with you in on anything Real Estate related. I promise you, there really are some of us out there. And to be perfectly honest, making your client happy and helping them with what they want seems to make the most business sense to me too, because if clients are happy, are your friends, see you as an asset to their Real Estate transaction, then in the long run that business will prosper.

I am pretty sure that if you take the money out of MOST jobs MOST people would leave and do something else, no matter what the job is. I don't think that necessarily means that they can't still be good at what they do just because money is exchanged, and I think you'd agree.

BTW, how do you like living outside of the U.S. these days?
Posted by Kasey Boles on 1/4/2008 9:41 AM
Re:At the Risk of Causing a Stir....
Trey-I Agree.
Posted by Kasey Boles on 1/4/2008 9:42 AM
Re:At the Risk of Causing a Stir....
:-)

I sell for a Boise based empolyer, andstill own two homes in Boise. Cash flow covers the whole nut, but would sell at he prices today. For todays values I could park the cash in treasuries and make the same return without risk. (BTW I am not a I/O leverage guy in which case it would be even sweeter.) I will return to Boise soon an dream ofa great house at an appropriate price,
Posted by emdeplam on 1/4/2008 2:33 PM
Re:At the Risk of Causing a Stir....
I missed this blog when posted so sorry for the late reply. Great point, Kasey. Great point, emdeplam.I was in a leads group with a residential realtor and when housing prices were going up, he was telling us all that it was the time to buy before prices got too crazy &..... there were 100% loans available! Whoopeee!When things went south, of course, you know what the mantra was......"it's time to buy; prices have never been better....."Holy schmole. Too sad, too funny.I have a client who I pleaded with not to buy a commercial property. He is a wise investor and quite capable of making his own inestment decisions, but he was going to get my advice to be sure. We've repositioned the property and it is now cash flowing, so the story turned out alright, but I could never have imagined advising a client to buy a dog in order to earn a commission as that is not a long-term strategy I believe is successful, but I think we all probably know agents who don't believe it is their role to step out of the box and actually advise their clients on such issues.I think our training actually advises us to present properties and not to give any extraneous advice at the sake of getting sued. I think my instructor said over and over to tell the client..."if that's important to you, you need to investigate that further" and for us (realtors) to offer no other opinion.Geez, what bad advice and no wonder we get such bad ratings as a group as far as credibility.Oh......I hope my insurance agent is reading this blog.
Posted by Scott Nicholson on 7/30/2008 8:03 PM
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